The Champion

January 2009 , Page 49

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Military Commissions Update

By Michael Price

Curtains for Guantánamo

December 8 marked the last hearing at Guantánamo Bay in the case against five so-called “high-value detainees” accused of coordinating the 9/11 attacks, at least until after President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office on January 20. It remains uncertain, however, whether the new administration will act swiftly to close the Guantánamo prison camps and end the military commissions system. Although there is no shortage of logistical and diplomatic hurdles to repatriating the remaining detainees and emptying the now infamous detention facility, Mr. Obama can and should order an immediate halt to the commissions on Day One. I have never been more convinced of or committed to this goal than now, fresh off the flight from my first week at Guantánamo.

I made the trip to Guantánamo from Andrews Air Force Base with the defense attorneys from NACDL’s John Adams Project, a partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union that sponsors expert civilian capital tria

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